Between Empires

Arabs, Romans, and Sasanians in Late Antiquity

Greg Fisher

Clear analysis of a dauntingly complex subject - the political situation in the Middle East before the birth of Islam

Shows that interface with the Roman Empire, in particular, played a key role in laying the foundations for later concepts of Arab identity

Between Empires

Arabs, Romans, and Sasanians in Late Antiquity

Greg Fisher

Description

In Between Empires Greg Fisher tackles the problem of pre-Islamic Arab identity by examining the relationship between the Roman Empire and the Empire of Sasanian Iran, and a selection of their Arab allies and neighbours, the Jafnids, Nasrids, and Hujrids. Fisher focuses on the last century before the emergence of Islam and stresses the importance of a Near East dominated by Rome and Iran for the formation of early concepts of Arab identity. In particular, he examines cultural and religious integration, political activities, and the role played by Arabic as factors in this process. He concludes that interface with the Roman Empire, in particular, played a key role in helping to lay the foundation for later concepts of Arab identity, and that the world of Late
Antiquity is, as a result, of enduring interest in our understanding of what we now call the Middle East.

Between Empires

Arabs, Romans, and Sasanians in Late Antiquity

Greg Fisher

Table of Contents

1. Introduction2. Aspects of Arab Christianization in Late Antiquity3. Empires, Clients, and Politics4. Arabic, Culture, and Ethnicity5. Between Empires: the Jafnids, the Nasrids, and Late Antiquity6. The Jafnids and History in East and West

Between Empires

Arabs, Romans, and Sasanians in Late Antiquity

Greg Fisher

Author Information

Greg Fisher is Assistant Professor of Greek and Roman Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, where he teaches courses on Rome and the barbarians, the Near East, and Roman imperial history.